[MarkG] This is a earth type of game right?
[MarkG] On what time period do you start?
[Ron_] Yes.  Well, a world based game, not Earth :)  ...
[MarkG] what's the difference? :)
[Ron_] Don't expect to see familiar continents.  The world topology is semi-randomly generated, based on the hosts creation choices...
[MarkG] ok, but the world looks like earth, right?
[MarkG] do you start as a premitive tribe like in civ2 or something else?
[Ron_] In that it's round, yes  :)  Other than that, no
[Ron_] Yes, even more primitive than in civ.  Your first task is to discover fire, stone tools, agriculture, etc.  We start even further back than civ does...
[MarkG] do you start on specific age? 
[MarkG] and you evolve and advance like civ?
[Ron_] No, there are no "ages" as such in MD.  You know the techs you know, regardless of where the rest of the world is at that point
[Ron_] Absolutely.  The advances go well past our current tech.  In fact, we want the techs to go just up to the point of warp-drive
[Ron_] But stop before they get there.  After that, it would become a space-sim, which is not what we are after...
[MarkG] so you will go through all known advances, like in civ, and then extend to the future...
[MarkG] when does it ends?
[Ron_] yes, exactly...
[MarkG] military conquest is the one option I guess....
[Ron_] The game?  When you meet the winning conditions.  The winning conditions are set by the game host prior to the start of the game, and could consist of any of several things
[Ron_] Controlling a certain % of landmass, knowing a certain number of techs, achieving a certain minimum score, etc.
[Ron_] Or any combination of them.  It's up to the host of the game...
[MarkG] Is there any definite end date? like 2020 in civ2?
[Ron_] No
[Ron_] Unless it's set by the host...
[MarkG] do you get to colonize other planets?
[Ron_] Hehe, no.  It's beyond the scope of this game.  Like I said, we didn't want to create a space strategy game, but a world strategy one...
[MarkG] ok.... question from lumpkin: "why he chose the name Manifest Destiny. I did a search and it seems to be a Canadian nationlist movement"
[Ron_] Hehe, okay, just a sec
[Ron_] Okay
[Ron_] Manifest Destiny:  An ostensibly benevolent or necessary policy of imperialistc expansion
[Ron_] That's from Webster
[Ron_] That's the *idea* we're after with the title
[Ron_] It has nothing to do with American expansionism or Canadian natiionalism
[MarkG] Hmmm.. ok, I'm convinced, I hope some of the Canadians are too :)
[Ron_] Remeber, this is not Earth your playing on :)  ...
[DanQ] :)
[MarkG] btw are you going to heave real civs?
[MarkG] if you're not playing on Earth....
[Ron_] Real civs?  There could be
[MarkG] I mean Americans, Greeks, English, etc...
[Ron_] Races are created by the players with a whole lot of possible variables
[Ron_] So, sure, you could create a "Greek" race, or an "English" one
[MarkG] Yeah, but what about city names? I guess it's all up to player....
[Ron_] It all depends on what settings you set when you create your race...
[Ron_] Yep, cities are named by the players when they found them...
[MarkG] comment from Annoy_Mouse: "Doesnt sound very politically correct" :)
[MarkG] I guess he means the name...
[MarkG] oh sorry.
[MarkG] "No races being different, eg more intelligent etc"
[Ron_] hehe, well, PC is not my main concern.  I hope people are not offended.
[Ron_] ah
[Ron_] I see what you mean
[Ron_] Races are created with a limited number of Race points
[Ron_] You spend them to improve various aspects of your race
[MarkG] after all it's only a game....
[Ron_] So where one race excells in one area, it must be vulnerable in another to compensate
[Ron_] In that way, all the races balance out
[MarkG] If noone else has something to add...
[MarkG] Dan continues on...
[Ron_] okay, thanks Mark
[MarkG] last comment
[MarkG] "When you take over other cities, do they keep their old race?"
[Ron_] Yes, they do.  Occupied cities have (now) foriegn populations in them
[Ron_] The player who lost the city will still have a very limited control of that population
[MarkG] interesting, can they revolt more easily or something?
[Ron_] This population declines as the foriegn pop is assimilated
[Ron_] Yes, exactly Mark...
[Ron_] Or perform espionage, etc...
[DanQ] Good afternoon
[Ron_] Hey Dan
[DanQ] Production was a very important part of "city management" in Civ2.
[DanQ] How does it come into play in MD?
[Ron_] Production is everything in MD
[Ron_] Your cities must produce units and city improvements, very similarly to Civ
[Ron_] ...
[Ron_] sorry keep forgetting that ...
[MarkG] wonders?
[Ron_] No, there will be no Wonders in MD.  I know Civ players like them, but I always hated them, hehe
[Ron_] They don't make much sense to me, from a logical standpoint
[Ron_] Instead, there will be leaders in MD
[DanQ] Can you tell us how these "leaders" are replacing wonders?
[Ron_] You create leaders and improve their skills.  Leaders which accompany a unit stack improve their abilities as well
[Ron_] Leaders in cities improve city production
[Ron_] It works much like Wonders, I think, only with a bit more logical base :)...
[DanQ] I see
[DanQ] Will there be structures that can give benifits like wonders did?
[Ron_] There will be tons of structures (city improvements).  None of them will have the overreaching sort of power that the Wonders do, but several combined in a city may act similarly...
[DanQ] Can you give us an example of a city improvement and its effects..?
[Ron_] Sure
[Ron_] Uh, how about the warehouse?  A city without a warehouse has a very limited ability to store excess resources.  Such excess resources will probably be lost.  Once they build a warehouse, they can begin to store them up for later use
[DanQ] All right.
[Ron_] Another one will be the trade center, which will automate some of the resource trading between cities (if one city needs wood, and another city has excess, the trade center will send some off)
[DanQ] Interesting!
[Ron_] City defenses, unit builders, etc.  The list is already pretty long, hehe...
[DanQ] Also in Civ2 was the necessity to acquire resources in order to build objects such as city improvements. How do resources enter the picture in MD?
[Ron_] In the same way.  Resources are used for city improvements, unit building, and research
[Ron_] Resources (so far) include food, wood, gold, coal, oil, ore, and a bunch more...